Keywords

Abstract

Limited information exists on the racial attitudes and ethnic identities of groups of mixed racial origin. The present research tested the hypotheses that the construct of ethnic identity is valid among such groups and that ethnic identity is related to out-group prejudice, as predicted by social identity theory. The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure, the Anti-White Scale, and the Subtle Racism Scale were administered to 70 South Africans of mixed racial decent, the so-called Coloureds. A factor analysis supported the structural validity of the measure of ethnic identity with this sample, but correlations between scales did not support the prediction that group identity would be positively associated with out-group prejudice. Group identity was positively related to positive attitudes toward Whites, supporting the tenets of social dominance theory.